Sustainability

MIT’s comprehensive commitment to sustainability aims to transform the Institute into a powerful model that generates just, equitable, applicable, and scalable solutions for responding to the unprecedented challenges of a changing planet. In these efforts, MIT mobilizes its community to tackle climate change at the level of the campus and beyond.

Guided by Fast Forward: MIT’s Climate Action Plan for the Decade, MIT is committed to eliminating direct campus emissions by 2050 with a near-term milestone of net-zero by 2026. To reach its climate goals, the Institute is focused on making buildings more energy efficient, transitioning to electric vehicles, enabling both campus-level and large-scale renewable energy projects, and transforming how energy is generated, distributed, and used on campus.

  • MIT has outlined 18 climate and sustainability goals which engage 47 different departments.
  • Since 2014, MIT has reduced its net emissions by approximately 15%.
  • The Access MIT program provides generous subsidies for staff, faculty, and postdocs for low-carbon commuting—including subway, bus, bicycling, and commuter rail.
  • MIT sponsors four Bluebike stations on campus, with a total of 207 docks. The MIT community completed more than 647,418 bike-share trips in 2024.
  • New campus construction and major renovation projects aim to meet the national LEED Gold (version 4) certification standard. MIT has completed more than 28 LEED projects, including three LEED Platinum projects.

Campus

  • 168 acres (0.68 km2) in Cambridge, Massachusetts
  • 20 student residence halls on campus
  • 26 acres (0.11 km2) of playing fields
  • 40+ gardens and green spaces
  • 60+ public works of art

More than two dozen offices, programs, and initiatives at MIT work to address sustainability and climate change issues, including the MIT Office of Sustainability, the Environmental Solutions Initiative, the MIT Energy Initiative, the MIT Climate and Sustainability Consortium, and the Abdul Latif Jameel Water and Food Systems Lab. MIT community groups also contribute significantly to sustainability work, with many student- and staff-led groups advocating for and advancing climate change solutions.

MIT offers a Climate System Science and Engineering degree and an Environment and Sustainability Minor, which give undergraduates an opportunity to delve into interdisciplinary coursework and investigations into real-world challenges facing people, the planet, and the campus itself.

As a founding member of the Cambridge Compact for a Sustainable Future, MIT works with Cambridge, Harvard University, and local businesses and organizations to achieve a more healthy, livable, and sustainable future. The Institute also partners with the cities of Cambridge and Boston to develop sustainability solutions for MIT and the world and is a member of the Boston Green Ribbon Commission.